Many wireless organizations continue to utilize Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture. While LTE is designed to handle large network traffic, the amount of data that can move from mobile devices to the service provider networks is limited by the licensed spectrum available for communication.
To increase the capacity to handle traffic between mobile devices and networks, wireless carriers may utilize LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U). LTE-U applies LTE to the unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum. By sending data through the 5 GHz frequency band, LTE-U offloads traffic on licensed spectra used by LTE.
License Assisted Access (LAA) is another method for using the unlicensed spectrum. In contrast to LTE-U, LAA enforces the Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol. Any device adhering to LBT would first monitor a communication channel and send data over the channel only when it is not occupied by another device.